16min
Mindfulness is the physical and mental state that allows you to face life by focusing on the beauty of the present, and enjoying every surprise it holds. "From Suffering to Peace: The True Promise of Mindfulness" is the perfect guide to exploring the multiple dimensions of awareness, with simple tips we can put into practice, and valuable reflections we can make our own.
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Analysis and key concepts
01.
It is extremely difficult to define mindfulness, because this word expresses a concept rich in meaning, and each of those meanings can teach us something very precious
02.
Being mindful means listening to your body and knowing how to respond to its needs. Unfortunately, in today’s world people’s attention is often diverted by the digital world and physical and mental well-being becomes more difficult to achieve
03.
Meditating to connect with the body: the most effective way to do it is to ask yourself a question every day and not to ignore the important signals
04.
Mindfulness meditation is a practice of stillness, and of great help in dealing with change, because it is a powerful tool to find peace in an ever changing world
05.
Mindfulness teaches us to know ourselves beyond self-image and our values: meditating we can “drop” physical boundaries and experience a different awareness of our emotions
06.
Mindfulness meditation is useful for putting the multitude of thoughts that crowd our mind on silent mode
07.
Exercising Mindfulness means perceiving everything that happens in our surroundings, without commenting or judging it. It is the ability to embrace an experience without trying to change or control it
08.
Mindfulness is the key to truly enjoying every second, without ending up being disappointed
09.
There is a very fine line between happiness for other people’s success and envy: awareness teaches you to avoid damaging your liver and to enjoy happiness with your friends because mindfulness meditation frees you from being self-centred
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Quotes
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Take-home message
Mindfulness is not an easy word to explain; the main meaning is to be truly aware of what you are experiencing, but its "power" is much wider than simple awareness: mindfulness is capable of radically influencing - and modifying - every area and every moment of our life.
The word mindfulness is translated from the Indian "pali sati", which literally means "to bring to mind". It could be said that being aware of something means knowing it so well that you can remember it by heart. The word "sati" can also refer to simply keeping something in mind, such as your breath, while meditating, or your steps, while walking in the mountains on a slippery path.
The very name of our species, Homo sapiens, refers to being wise, that is, being aware of one's knowledge, in order to put it to good use.
Mindfulness practices are very fashionable today and perhaps this is why they are taken less seriously, when instead they could have a revolutionary impact on the lives of many people. To assess your capacity for awareness, you can do this simple test: raise a hand and, for a few moments, look at it calmly, while you become aware of its every detail. You have to learn to look at your hand as if you were looking at it for the first time, discovering its size, weight, shape, colour, the consistency of the fleshy parts, as well as the texture and temperature of its skin. While doing this exercise, “judgemental” thoughts may spontaneously arise, such as the need to cut your nails or that your hand has wrinkles: what you have to do is let those thoughts slip away and bring your focus right back to neutral.
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The author
Mark Coleman teaches meditation at Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Woodacre, California. After obtaining a degree in clinical psychology, and working as a coach and consultant, he began to teach Insight Meditation. Founder of the Mindfulness Training Institute, he works with numerous organisations to help them integrate the practice of Mindfulness into everyday life. Since 1997, he has led mindfulness retreats on five continents. Coleman has also written and published several successful books, including Make Peace with Your Mind, From Suffering to Peace, A Field Guide to Nature Meditation, and Awake in the Wild: Mindfulness in Nature as a Path of Self Discovery.
Edition
Publishing house:
New World Library
Year:
2019
Pages:
336
ISBN:
978-1608686032